Aces play for high stakes

Two of racing's stellar reputations will be on the line when Shamardal and Motivator meet in Saturday's Coral Eclipse Stakes, writes Andrew Longmore

SAY what you like about the overwhelming, some might say unhealthy, power of Godolphin, but nobody can deny its love of a challenge. No sooner had its brilliant colt Shamardal slammed a decent field in the St James’s Palace Stakes at York 12 days ago than the drums were sounding along Newmarket High Street. On the other side of racing’s headquarters, Michael Bell was exuding the sort of confidence in Motivator, the runaway Derby winner, that Angelo Dundee once invested in Muhammad Ali.

Too often, the economics of the breeding industry has dictated racing’s caution when matching its champions. In America and Australia, defeat is an occupational hazard; in England, defeat means lower stud fees. So the duel between Shamardal and Motivator in the Coral Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday marks not just racing’s equivalent of the heavyweight championship of the world but also a refreshing return to old-fashioned sporting